The Chinese city of Shanghai has come under lockdown to deal with a surge in Covid-19 infections. The move is a continuation of China’s strong yet dynamic response since the onset of the pandemic. The government action in Shanghai has received much commentary in China and around the world. Citing the inconveniences that millions of Shanghai residents have to undergo during the lockdown, some Western media outlets are castigating China’s Covid-19 control measures.
Painting China’s pandemic response as unresponsive to the needs and rights of the citizens ignores some key facts. First, is that China has been very consistent in its approach to managing the impacts of the global health crisis. As a result, the country has registered the least number of infections and deaths from the disease per capita. Had China exposed itself to the kind of lapses witnessed in much of Europe and the Americas, it would have caused a monumental toll on China and the rest of the world.
Secondly, China is not just sealing off cities or areas with spikes in Covid-19 infections. The comprehensive strategy marked by rapid mass testing, vaccinations and government support in terms of care for the afflicted, stands in stark contrast to what has happened in other jurisdictions around the world. In Shanghai, like it was in Wuhan, thousands of medical personnel drawn from other provinces have teamed up to ensure the city gets back to normalcy. Many citizen volunteers as well as input by corporates are all part of China’s comprehensive response to Covid-19 clusters.
It is also important to point out that a pandemic season is no ordinary time. Safety and wellbeing of the citizens should therefore be a top priority for any government. In mounting a response, some inconveniences are sure to be experienced. However, such discomfort pales in comparison to full blown impacts of the pandemic. The Chinese people appear to understand this delicate balancing act, as reflected by their support for government interventions in stemming the Covid-19 havoc.
Thanks to its zero-Covid strategy, China has registered stronger economic growth compared to other big economies around the world. China’s strong economic showing has anchored global economic stability and growth with projected contribution above 20% through 2024. This has particularly been important for developing countries whose economies were devastated by the pandemic, a situation that has since been exacerbated by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
China’s ability to douse clusters of Covid-19 infections also enabled Beijing to effectively contribute to the global response; providing developing countries with knowledge, materials, medicines and finally vaccines to confront the pandemic.
Many countries and territories that have relaxed their containment measures have experienced spikes in infections and hospitalizations. President Biden’s chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci is predicting a surge in Covid-19 infections in the United States in the coming weeks due to weakening immunity and relaxation of restrictions.
While mass vaccinations have led to fewer deaths globally compared to the initial stages of the pandemic, scientific studies have unearthed the debilitating effects in Covid-19 survivors. According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, some of the post-Covid conditions include difficulty in thinking or concentrating, fatigue, shortness of breath, cough and persistent headache. The American health body has since classified post-Covid conditions as disability. Exposing more citizens to the disease under the so called ‘living with the virus’ programmes therefore carry heavy long term health and economic impacts compared to effective cluster control of the virus spread.
Every country has unique obtaining domestic conditions that make one state different from the next. Such disparities require customized and context responsive strategies that promise the best outcomes. China has adopted the dynamic zero-Covid strategy that has so far delivered much value to the Chinese people and the rest of the world.
As the old dictum goes, no one is safe until everyone is safe. This vision cannot be achieved if the virus is still roaming free, metastasizing into more transmissible and deadly variants.
The writer is a scholar of international relations with a focus on China-Africa cooperation. Twitter: @Cavinceworld.
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